Battle lines drawn for SARU Women’s Interprovincials
The battle lines have been drawn as SA’s top female provincial players prepare to go head-to-head on Saturday in the opening round of the SARU Women’s Interprovincial competition.
Defending champions, Border, who secured their second consecutive title last year, will take to the field first in Section A when they line up against SWD at the BCM Stadium in East London, while the Griffons and Griquas meet in Welkom in Group 1 of Section B.
The Golden Lions, meanwhile, will meet the Limpopo Blue Bulls in one of two encounters in Group 2 of the B Section in Johannesburg.
In the other big match-ups of the weekend, Western Province take on Eastern Province in Cape Town, while 2014 finalists the Blue Bulls do battle with KwaZulu-Natal at home at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Border were in fine form last season and progressed through the competition unbeaten, and they will look to build on this against SWD at the venue where they were crowned the champions twice. One of the team’s main strengths has been their ability to combine their forward domination with exciting backline play, which saw them secure bonus-point wins in all their round-robin matches last year, and SWD will be aware of that as they look to start the season on a high note.
In Cape Town, Western Province will want to make the most of their home ground advantage for a solid start to the season and to kick-start their hopes of winning the title this year. The Cape side went down against Border in the 2013 final and crashed out in the semifinal last year, but they will be determined to avoid a similar fate this season. Eastern Province, however, also boast a quality team and they harbour similar hopes of success after winning four of their five pool matches last season, meaning it could be a thrilling clash.
The Blue Bulls, meanwhile, will enter their clash as favourites, especially since KwaZulu-Natal managed to win only one match last year. But the Durban-based team will draw confidence from the fact that they won all four of their pool matches in 2013, which earned them a semifinal berth. Should they succeed in replicating their 2013 form, they will have what it takes to challenge the Blue Bulls.
SARU Women’s Interprovincial fixtures, Saturday 4 July:
Section A:
Border vs SWD
Venue: BCM Stadium, East London
Kick-off: 15h00
Western Province vs Eastern Province
Venue: City Park Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 16h00
Blue Bulls vs KwaZulu-Natal
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15h00
Section B:
Golden Lions vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
Venue: A’Square Forklift Alberton Rugby Club, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 14h00
Griffons vs Griquas
Venue: Bronville Stadium, Welkom
Kick-off: 15h00
Falcons vs Pumas
Venue: Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park
Kick-off: 15h00
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